A chronicle of our life in Northern Arizona, a showcase for my photography, adventures, and a discussion or two on exploring the outdoors. -Kingazjay

Friday, July 9, 2010

Contaminating the weather

Last year on July 3rd we had the thunderstorm of the century. Several inches of rain in a matter of minutes. Washing out our drive way, and the main road. It changed the landscape it was so large. This year is a complete oppisite. We have had tempatures well below average, mid to high eighties, with lows at night in the sixties. The summer monsoons (By the way, the term "monsoons" as in "when the monsoons arrive ..." is a meteorological no-no. There is no such beast. The word should be used in the same manner that "summer" is used. Consequently, the proper terminology is "monsoon thunderstorms" not "monsoons.") have just not been able to gather enough energy, or moisture. In fact the dewpoint is only 32 ° we need three consecutive days of a dew-point at or above 55 ° to be in official monsoon weather pattern (dispite what the national weather service has to say about the situation. Several years ago, they changed the definition of the start of the season from dew-point based to calander based. While some thunderstorms can develope over night in June, it is in no way a monsoon flow with out a sustained elevated dew-point.) add to that the fact that the last bit of rain was well over a month ago, things around here are a bit on the dry side. But at the time of this writing, we have seen an influx of moisture in the past 24 hrs. In fact the dew point shot up to 50 degrees yesterday, as a small rain storm rolled through the area.

Some Stats...

Monsoon Facts and Figures
1896-1992

Average date of monsoon beginning...........................July 7
In 2 out of 3 years the monsoon begins......................July 1 through July 16
Earliest Monsoon beginning on record.......................June 16, 1925
Latest monsoon beginning on record..........................July 25, 1987
Average date of first break in monsoon......................August 16
Average total number of monsoon days.....................56
Greatest number of monsoon days on record.............99 in 1984
Greatest number of consecutive monsoon days on record........72 in 1984 (June 25 through September 5)
Least number of monsoon days on record.....................27 in 1962
Wettest monsoon on record (July, Aug. and Sept. rainfall)....9.38 inches in 1984
Driest monsoon on record (July, Aug. and Sept. rainfall)....35 inches in 1924
Average monsoon rainfall (July, Aug. and Sept.)............2.45 inches
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I will not be tolerant. I will not be politically correct. I will not be silent. I will speak the truth. I will do all that is in my power to oppose the Marxist subversion and destruction of this Country and I will not go quietly.